The Media Rating Council has released a draft of its Digital Audio Measurement Guidelines for a public comment period.

The draft offers guidance on measurement and reporting requirements for digital audio advertising and content in browsers or apps that require a software-based audio player, whether they are delivered through streaming or through a progressive download approach. When finalized, they will serve as a basis for the assessment of digital audio measurement as part of an independent audit and accreditation process.

The guidelines were developed with a working group of representatives from the digital audio industry, as well as the Radio Advertising Bureau, the NAB Committee on Local Radio Audience Measurement, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the IAB Tech Lab.

The draft says an “audio ad impression” requires the ad to have been played with the digital audio player in a non-muted/a non-zero volume, and these ads must be filtered for invalid traffic. Additionally, the ad must play for a minimum duration of two continuous seconds.

The guidelines spell out approaches that should be applied to the measurement and reporting of metrics under a variety of distribution models, including: static content and static ad loads, simulcast in combination with an over-the-air broadcast; static content and static ads that are digital-only streams, and do not have corresponding broadcast simulcasts; static content but dynamic ads; or dynamic content and dynamic ads.

Feedback will be accepted until Aug. 10 and can be submitted via email. These will be reviewed and considered, and a revised document will be shared with the working group prior to a final version being issued.